What is Thalassemia in Infants?
Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder. Thalassemia in a child means that his body is not producing enough hemoglobin. Due to this, the child gets anemia.
It is noteworthy that hemoglobin is an important part of red blood cells, which deliver oxygen to the entire body. Due to its deficiency, the child faces many problems. Let’s discuss these openly further.
What problems does a child face due to Thalassemia?
Thalassemia causes the formation of hemoglobin, which causes anemia. Along with this, the child may also have some such complaints.
- yellowness of the body
- tiredness of the child
- stunted growth
- Bone pain in severe thalassemia
- Skeletal deformity
- swelling in stomach
- not being able to breathe properly
- Organ failure due to excessive blood loss can happen
- In severe cases, it can even lead to death
Children suffering from thalassemia may require a blood transfusion to provide healthy hemoglobin to their body. So that it can help in his development.
Cause of thalassemia in baby
Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder. It is passed to the child through genes from a parent or another family member. During this period, there is a change in the child’s DNA, which produces hemoglobin.
Types of Thalassemia in Children
When Types of Thalassemia When it comes to this, it is important to understand two main things. There are two types of thalassemia divided. First, the part of hemoglobin that is affected, like –
- Alpha thalassemia
- beta thalassemia
Actually, hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to all the cells in the body, is made up of two different parts, called alpha and beta. When alpha thalassemia occurs, the alpha part of hemoglobin is not formed and in beta-thalassemia, beta hemoglobin is not formed.
After this, alpha and beta thalassemia are divided on the basis of their severity. By adding the words major and minor at the end, like –
- alpha thalassemia minor
- Intermediate form of alpha-thalassemia – Hb H
- Alpha thalassemia major
- beta thalassemia minor
- Beta thalassemia major (Cooley’s anemia)
Thalassemia minor occurs when only one parent inherits the faulty gene. These types of people and children are disorder carriers. Most of these symptoms of thalassemia are not visible.
Thalassemia major occurs when both parents inherit bad genes and gene defects. Serious symptoms of anemia are seen in this. In Hb H, the spleen begins to enlarge and symptoms of anemia appear.
How common is thalassemia in children?
India has the highest number of cases of Thalassemia major in children in the world. In India, about 1 to 1.5 lakh children are suffering from Thalassemia Major. every year In India, 10 to 15 thousand children suffering from Thalassemia Major are born., Approximately 42 million people are disorder carriers of beta-thalassemia. It is believed that 50 percent of children with major thalassemia do not survive even till the age of 20 due to poverty and lack of treatment.
What are the symptoms and signs of Thalassemia in children?
Trait and minor thalassemia mostly show no symptoms or mild anemia. These symptoms may be seen in children with severe thalassemia.
- Pale skin (pallor) or yellowing of eyes (jaundice)
- Enlargement of stomach due to enlargement of spleen or liver
- facial bones clearly visible
- stunted growth
- inability to exercise or do other activities
- abnormal heart sounds
Diagnosis of Thalassemia in Children
Thalassemia is diagnosed through newborn screening after delivery. This screening can detect moderate and severe forms of thalassemia. If mild thalassemia is not detected in screening, it can be detected by a blood test (CBC) done after the child is one to two years of age.
Generally, it is considered to be iron deficiency anemia. Yes, apart from CBC, the doctor can conduct hemoglobin electrophoresis blood test to see the types of hemoglobin. Alpha globin genotyping test can also be prescribed.
Thalassemia treatment
How is Thalassemia treated?
Doctors may recommend gene therapy and other treatments for children with beta-thalassemia.
Blood Transfusion
In case of severe thalassemia, blood transfusion is required. But, it is not a cure for thalassemia. This simply helps in removing the hindrance in the growth of the child and reducing the symptoms of thalassemia. This may need to be done again every 10 to 15 days.
Surgery
The spleen of some children suffering from thalassemia increases. A surgery called splenectomy can be done to remove it. This can improve the condition of anemia and reduce symptoms like stomach pain and enlarged stomach. But even this treatment does not eliminate the need for blood transfusion.
Bone Marrow Transplant
With a bone marrow transplant, the diseased blood cell-producing cells in the child are replaced with new cells. This transplant requires the brother’s bone marrow or the bone marrow of a close relative who matches the child. This procedure can cure thalassemia.
This was all the important information related to Thalassemia in infants. This is a dangerous disease, which the mother can prevent from reaching the child in the womb itself. Therefore, only by being alert, the child can be saved from getting Thalassemia